Sink or Swim
by HybridGlitch
Summary: Join or be killed, was the choice The Originals gave to few. Who could have predicted that Caroline would have to face such a choice as she searches desperately across sea for her vanished lover.
1. Sailing off

**Here's a new story I've been working on for a while, it's my first try at writing a AU story, let only a pirate fic,**

**So let's see how it goes :)  
**

* * *

Chapter 1- Sailing off

**Things change**  
**People change**  
**Minds change**  
**Love changes**  
**Hearts change**  
**Life is change** -Royal Akuaku

* * *

She caught the last sight of the white sails in the distance, her eyes that were now glittering with tears, could no longer detect sight of the enormous ship that had sailed moments ago.

She cursed the fog that crept above the dark waters, for it had rendered the departing ship in which her beloved had boarded, all but invisible.

Her beloved.

Who held no wealth or rank in society here at Port Royal, who went against everything her father, the commodore, wanted as a suitor for his only child.

For the obvious reasons her father had not given his consent in the wedding that had yet to take place.

Which was why, Tyler, her first love, was sailing away to England, to mend his broken relationship with his father and to inherit his share of his family's fortune.

"_Tyler, there must be another way of gaining my father's approval." Caroline had said. _

"_I want for us to be together, at last. There is no other way. " his dark brown eyes had shined with sincerity. _

_She turned away from him, to gaze at the dark waters. "I feel as if you will have cheated your father, if you processed with this notion."_

_To mend a relationship with a family member for the pure purpose of gaining wealth just did not sit well with her. Even if it was done out of love for another, it was not fair to his father._

"_I must do what I must, this will be for us, I will become the man you deserve." _

She had wanted so badly for them to part on good terms, she had wanted to feel his gentle, soft lips upon hers before he had left, but she simply could not act as if she wasn't angry,

Tyler had given her no choice on the matter.

_He slowly wrapped his arms around the fuming blonde. "I would do anything, to be with you." _

_Despite her anger, her features grew soft at his words. "Then stay, be with me now Tyler."_

"_I have nothing to give you." He said ever so softly. _

_She leaned into him, while wrapping her arms around his shoulders. "I don't want or need your father's money, all I want is you."_

_Around them, others began to board the ship; it caused Caroline to tighten the embrace._

"_Please Tyler, Stay." She pleaded._

_Tyler slightly pulled away from the embrace, his eyes grew serious, and his voice lost its soft edge. "This is the only way."_

_He entangled himself from her, and quickly kissed her cheek but before he could turn away Caroline quickly grabbed his face and held it between her hands. _

"_Has he ever wronged you, Tyler?" she asked, in a last feeble attempt to make him stay._

_His eyes immediately drifted to the ground, as if he was unable to meet her gaze. _

"_Never." is what he whispered, before he walked off. _

She could no longer see the white sails in the distance.

Tyler was gone.

She whipped the few tears mingling across her cheek and followed her father to the carriage.

* * *

Caroline worries as every day passes by without news from Tyler. Yes she's still very angry at him for what he plans to do, but she can't help but miss him terribly.

She knows there isn't a way of receiving his letters until the ship makes its first port of call. But it has been 15 extremely long days! It's difficult to keep a happy mind set when you haven't received any news at all.

She wonders if he's cold, hungry or even lonely.

Perhaps he's been replaying their last moment over and over again in his mind, finding different ways it could have ended.

She knows she has.

An angry scowl emerged on her face, at the thought of their final encounter.

If he thought she would welcome him home with hugs and kisses he was surly mistaken. She had much to say to him about his latest decisions. He defiantly deserved the cold shoulder, for quite some time!

She let out a sign, and leaned her head against the armchair she was currently sitting on.

Putting all anger aside, she desperately wanted to be in his arms, wanted to give him many hugs and kisses at his return.

She even wanted to take away the guilt he was probably feeling at this very moment.

For here she was safe and sound while Tyler was risking his life in the middle of the ocean so that they could have a future.

She wanted to go out and; she wanted to fight for their future as well.

She should not be in this house.

She should be out in the ocean experiencing some of her own exciting adventures alongside Tyler.

It's what she dreamed about as a child, after all.

Sailing around the world, looking for buried treasure, discovering parts of the world no one has ever seen or would never possibly believe existed! Maybe even run into fierce pirates!

Yes most of it sounded quite silly, but in all honestly she had spent days dreaming about such a life, even now at seventeen years of age these dreams did not escape her.

Perhaps the one about running into fierce pirates did not sound as thrilling as before but the others still sounded quite tempting, they would forever invade her dreams with or without her consent.

Of course, these were defiantly not the dreams or desires a proper lady should have.

She thought back on the code of etiquette her governess had thought and engraved in her mind throughout her childhood.

"_Number one: A lady should not speak unless spoken to." Ms. Blackford had said while she sat across from the blonde child at the round table._

"_Number two: A lady should always keep formality among others; she shall always__use the title Miss and Mr. respectably." The little girl tapped her fingers across the table; she immediately stopped as she took in 's expression._

"_What is the third code, Caroline?"_

"_A lady shall always be in a happy temper, banish the blues and anger aside." She receded in a robotic voice. _

_The grey-haired governess nodded in approval before continuing._

"_Number four: A lady should not take interest in the arts of reading and good expression, they will summon perpetual interest." _

_Her wondering blue eyes paused on her books scattered across the floor before flickering back to the old woman's face._

"_Number five: A Lady shall abhor gossip, and above all scandal. Isn't that right, Caroline?" _

Caroline shook herself out of the memory and let out a soft sigh.

How was she suppose to sit calmly by and wait for Tyler's return? She simply bear them being apart, she also could not wait to get away from all these rules, from this life!

Tyler would give her the life she always wanted.

She truly would be happy with him.

From behind her, the door of the study suddenly crept open. She turned around to see her father who was in full uniform, he wore a grave expression.

Her eyes widened in worry. "Is everything alright, father? "

He continued to approach her without a word. This made her worry even more, something was defiantly wrong.

"Caroline, my dear." he spoke softly once he was at arm's reach. "Something has happened."

Her heart began hammering against her chest, as an obvious nightmare accrued to her

_This has nothing to do with him._

_He's fine._

_He's safe._

"What is it?" she managed to ask.

He sulked in a breath before continuing. "I've recently received a telegram"

_No. _

_God no. _

She knew where this was heading. She could not bear it. She did not want to hear the rest.

She tried to tell him to stop but was unable to find her own voice and before she could take another single breath he spoke the words that confirmed that her nightmare had became reality.

"The ship Tyler was aboard was attacked by Pirates."

The frantic hammering in her ears seized and was replaced by utter silence.

"There were no survivors."

She stared back at him, without saying a word. Her hands slightly shook at her side.

All thoughts of a happy life vanished from her mind.

It can't be.

Not him.

Not her Tyler.

"You're lying." She accused.

His eyes shined with sympathy. "Caroline." he began, gently.

"No. " She shouted. "You're lying, you never approved of him. You never wanted me to become his wife. " she broke into a sob.

It simply couldn't be! It had only been the beginning for them! It could not end this way. There had to be a mistake. Those could not have been the last moments they had shared!

"You're lying." She said brokenly.

Her father wrapped her in an embrace as she continued to sob hysterically.

* * *

In the very late hours of the night, Caroline lay in her bed, starring up at the white ceiling. Her eyes were bloodshot red from crying and she felt numb all over.

Her mind was telling her that Tyler was forever gone from this world but her heart told her otherwise.

Weren't you suppose to know for certain when someone you loved died? Wasn't your heart suppose to feel it?

In a novel she had once read, it had said humans had a sense to detect such things. At the time she had thought it was ridiculous but now she choose to believe it with all her heart because

Her Tyler couldn't be dead.

Her Tyler wasn't dead.

Those had not been the last words they had shared. He had to be out there somewhere and she would find out. She had to find a way to fix this awful mess!

There simply had to be something she could do.

She quickly slipped out of bed, pulled on a white robe and patted quietly across the floor barefoot to the hallway.

She would have to start by finding that telegram.

As she quickly descended the stairs; footsteps were heard from the parlor, this caused her to begin to take cautioned slow steps while walking over the squeaky wooden floors that lead to her father's office.

Once inside, she went straight to his wooden desk and opened the first drawer. Her shaking hands quickly scattered across many lose papers.

So many thoughts were going through her head at that precise moment.

_This doesn't feel right, snooping through my fathers things._

_Are my actions becoming rash?_

_Can I simply be in denial?_

She squeezed her eyes shut.

_No. Tyler's alive, he's out there._

_I will bring him home to me._

_I will fix this._

Despite her new found sense of determination, she couldn't help but look over her shoulder while she went through her fathers files, she could mentally picture him standing at the doorway with a disappointed frown on his face, or better yet she could picture her governess scolding her like she had always done throughout the years.

"_Ladies do not act in such way, you will never find a husband if you go on like this." had hissed._

"_Maybe I don't want a husband." Caroline had once replied. "I wish to spread my wings and fly far away from this place!" She had run into the garden with her arms spread wide at her side, smiling ear to ear as the wind drafted her lovely golden locks wildly around her face._

_Her governess had eventually chased after her, grabbed her by the arm and pulled her aside._

"_Little girls should not wish for such things, they might come true." _

Her eyes came back into focus and caught sight of a telegram that lay on top of a stake of blank pages.

She quickly picked it up, and read the message plastered across the small page. She gasped quite loudly and held on to the desk to steady herself as one sentence ran over and over again in her ears.

_Unidentified survivors take refuge at Long island._

She held back a yelp.

_Unidentified survivors._

Tyler was alive! He was in Long Island. He had to be one of the few survivors!

Her hands suddenly turned to fists at her side, they shook in anger.

Her father had lied!

He had said there were no survivors!

How dare he crush all her hope! He had obviously lied for his own benefit. It was no secret he did not want her to marry Tyler.

All she wanted to do at that precise moment was march over into the parlor and give him a piece of her mind, but she had to be smart about this, if she went to confront her father now he would tell her that she was overwhelmed by the recent traumatizing news she had recently received.

In all honesty, she knew the odds of his survival were slime, others would think it was impossible that he survived such a thing but in her heart she knew he was alive.

It wouldn't be something others would understand.

Her father wouldn't understand. She had to retrieve Tyler on her own, it was the only way.

Caroline neatly folded the telegram and placed it in her pocket.

She then began strategizing a plan.

First things first, she needed to get on the next boarding ship before her father realized she was absent.

However she knew the commodores daughter, let alone any woman wouldn't be able to board a ship full of sailors unaccompanied.

_I must become a man. _She concluded.

She quietly exited the room, and went upstairs into her father's chambers. She opened up his wardrobe and began rummaging once again through his things.

She managed to find a pair of gray trousers, a white flowing shirt and a black belt.

_These will have to do. _She thought.

Next she went into her room and pulled out the only pair of boots she owned, they were still quite formal looking but she had to make do with what she could find.

She quickly got dressed and gulped as she saw her reflection in the mirror.

If only could see her now, she'd probably faint!

Caroline tightened the belt around her waist, grabbed the telegram she had left in the pocket of her robe and headed downstairs, she took one of her father's hats hanging near the door and placed it on her head in a fashion that hid her long curly locks.

"You were right." She whispered into the dark empty room.

"I shouldn't have wished for such things."

* * *

It hadn't been as hard as Caroline had thought to find a ship heading to Long Island, by time she had arrived at the main port it had been in the early hours of the morning which were the hours most ships departed.

Once she had found the ship leading to her desired destination she had skimmed past the other sailors and boarded the ship without a soul questioning her.

Her disguise had done its purpose.

Now, a few days into the voyage, 3 to be precise, she felt as guilty as ever, her mind was swimming in culpability. Yes, her father had done wrong by lying but he did not deserve his only child disappearing in the middle of the night without any word. She could only imagine how worried he must be!

She cursed herself for not leaving him a note at her sudden departure. At the time it had been the last thing on her mind but now she knew it was necessary, she simply would have to find the time to write to him.

At the end of each night since aboard, she had gone straight to the lower level of the ship and fallen asleep as soon as her head had hit the hammock; she had never worked so hard in her life! Many things had to be done aboard a ship she had quickly learned, a day at sea consisted of hard laboured chores after another.

To state the obvious she was exhausted from a hard days work but tonight she declared she was to stay up and write her father a letter.

As she sat down with a lantern at her side, she realised that there were in fact many sailors here on the deck at this late hour,

_Don't these men ever sleep? _She wondered.

She sighed, looking away from the laughing men, and turned back to the blank page in front of her.

_What to write?_

_How to explain?_

_How to make him understand?_

It seemed quite impossible to write such a letter. She did not know how to put into words a statement that would reassure her father of her safety, that would make him feel better about the situation at hand.

But the truth was, she wasn't really safe. She was out on her own. For the first time in her life she was the one who had to reassure her own safety. She could not putt that into the letter, it would make her father's worries highly excavate but she also did not want to lie to him.

She had to find a way to be truthful without really informing him of her current situation. In other words she would have to tell him half-truths.

_Wouldn't that still be considered lying?_ A small voice in the back of her mind whispered.

Before she could write one word down, or at least attempt to write one down, the sailor who sat close by caught her attention or she should say the word he had spoken to the other sailors did.

"Pirate."

This she had to hear.

She putt the blank page aside and scouted a little closer to listen in on the story being told.

"They call themselves The Originals." The old sailor chimed in a hushed tone, as if just speaking of them would surely doom his very soul to hell.

"Black rotting souls, hungry for destruction, hungry for blood." He paused in between each word, without thinking Caroline scoffed at his dramatics, which lead the old man to lock gazes with her, which led her mockery to vanish within seconds.

"It is said they lurk these very waters, sinking any ship that crosses their path."

His dark eyes seemed to look through her, it made her feel completely bare and exposed, it made her wish she could have taken back that scoff, that she could have shown some restrain.

"On a lucky day, the captain, who shouldn't even be called a man but a ravenous wolf, spares one of his victims and gives them a choice."

She tried to keep her composure under the old man's watchful gaze but she could feel herself slipping up.

"Join or be killed." He whispered.

He then leaned in closer towards her, refusing to look away. "Most would beg for a thousand painful deaths other than joining that crew."

Her hands slightly shook at the statement.

_He's just a crazy old man who had too much to drink_. She tried to reason.

_He's probably inviting this ridiculous story as he goes along._

"Other lad's would die a thousand painful deaths gladly other than being killed at their vile hands."

She bit her bottom lip, trying has hard as she could to keep a straight face.

"You're damned to the depths no matter what you choose."

One of the young sailors abruptly stood up and gruffly patted the old man's shoulder.

"I don't believe a bloody word you say, Patt." He loudly stated. "If these so called "Originals" were true I would have surely heard of them by now."

Caroline thanked the heavens for the young sailor's distraction that released her from the old man's gaze; she was just about to lose it!

"I ain't telling no stories, boy. They're out there!" The elderly man, Pat, stated firmly.

The others gathered around, broke into fists of laughter.

It was clear that story time was over.

Caroline had to get back to reality.

* * *

**Let me know what you think, **

**should I continue this?**


	2. Dangerous Waters

**Sorry for the long wait, I just could not seem to find inspiration (I blame it on the lack of Klaroline). But thanks sosososo much to everyone who reviewed Im not sure if I could have written this without the support! I really hope you guys like it!**

**Btw I'd like to thank my amazing bestfriend, Grace, who has never read a Klaroline fanfic in her life but was willing to beta mine, and who was forced to listen to all my crazy ideas :) You're the best!**

**Anyway, Enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 2- Dangerous waters**

**He who fears dangers will not perish by them.** -Leonardo Da Vinci

* * *

_Dear father,_

_I apologize immensely for my sudden and rather disingenuous departure. Such a disappearance was not honourable to you. I however had sense behind my actions, as you might have already concluded I have found the telegram regarding the few survivors in Long Island and father I simply was compelled to investigate the matter for myself. _

_I am not in harm's way, I am in good health. I shall return home shortly._

_With best love,_

_Caroline_

The letter was by no means perfect but it was the best she could do. She knew her father had obviously already discovered the missing telegram, therefore had probably already sent some of his men to Long Island to retrieve her. But this did not worry her; the journey to Port Royal to Long island was precisely a 6 day voyage, which gave Caroline a few days to retrieve her beloved Tyler and wait by the main port for her Father's men, most likely a few young Midshipmen. They surely would be easy to spot in their uniforms.

Since the ship she was aboard arrived at Long Island moments ago, her search had to start immediately.

There was absolutely no time to waste!

Her eyes scanned around the very crowded main port, a sworn of men rushed around the wooden platforms, some were greeted by woman; others shook hands with other sailors. Looking past the sailors she noticed a ship emerging in the distance, the flag that glided in the wind was as black as night and a skull lay in the very center,

Her eyes quickly returned to the men walking amongst her,

How many of them were in fact pirates?

She pushed back her panic, adjusted her hat and walked over to town.

_There is no time to be a frightened little girl_. She reminded herself sternly.

* * *

She walked across the small town with the telegram in hand, asking civilians as she went along if they knew of the location she sought.

Some would grimly reply they knew of no such place.

Others would completely ignore her presence and keep walking on.

This shocked and infuriated her to no end!

Shocked her because the civilians that had most likely grown up and had always lived in this small village had never heard of such a location and Infuriated because she had never been treated in such a rude fashion before! If she were in her regular attire back home, not a soul would dare threat her as such.

How very different this place was.

How very unnerving it was.

Caroline sighed in frustration and entered what looked to be a pub. She sat down on the first stool she saw and began to rub her temples in frustration.

Today had been a complete waste of time. If her four remaining days would continue this way, she would be going home without Tyler. That was certain.

Could she really do such a thing?

Just simply leave without ever finding out if he was alive?

She honestly did not think so, but her father's men would simply have to through with their orders, even if that meant literally dragging her back home.

Ironic it was that she thought she had finally tasted a small portion of freedom, but in reality she was still completely trapped and now, utterly lost within herself.

How wonderful things had turned out to be.

While she was lost in her inner thoughts, she hadn't even noticed the set of dark eyes that had been intently starring at her.

She lazily lifted her gaze and caught those dark knowing orbs. She gasped in surprise and quickly looked away.

No, it simply could not be.

She looked towards the old man once more; to her utter dislike her suspicions had been correct.

Indeed it was he, the old sailor, Pat, who had frightened her half to death on the ship with his tales of ghostly pirates.

She got up from the stool without giving him another glance and quickly left the pub.

What an unpleasant coincidence that had been.

He was one old man she did not wish to see ever again.

As Caroline arrived outside, the sky had considerably darkened.

_I need to find somewhere to spend the night, and I need to find it now._

She wandered across town in a hurry until she found a small inn overlooking the sea.

"Perfect." She breathed, in relief before entering.

It was absolutely nothing like anything she was used to but she was just glad to find somewhere to rest, clean up, and clear her thoughts.

And most importantly, it was far better than sleeping in the streets.

She paid for her stay with the money she had happened to bring alone and walked over to her room.

It was quite small, the walls were a faded shade of red and the bed looked a little ragged but it did have a beautiful view of the ocean.

And she was quite happy to finally have her own privacy.

How she had missed it.

How she would never take it for granted again.

Caroline took off her father's hat, and ran her fingers through her knotted curls. She then slashed water over face, removing as much dirt as she could possibly manage.

After she had cleaned up, she lay in bed. Her eyes gazed out into the ocean's view that the little window provided. The moon shone brightly, it illuminated the waves in the distance. It was almost comforting to see the waves; it reminded her of home, of Tyler.

"There's still time." She murmured softly. "I'll find you, Tyler."

As her eyes grew heavy she gave a weak smile, things had been quite terrible lately but there was still hope, always something to hold on to.

All was not lost, besides, things could always be worst.

* * *

Bright and early the next morning, Caroline walked the streets in determination.

3 days, was the amount of time she still had left. No more thoughts of doubt or hesitation would dominate her thoughts.

If she had to tear this town apart to find Tyler, she would.

Right then and there, she promised herself she would not rest until she had found news from him, until she found even a crumb of evidence. She owned it to their love and to herself, to find out if he was alive.

Because grieving over a loved one you had lost was a lot better than always wondering what could have been. Surely that would be dreadful faith, possibly the very worst of all.

As she continued to walk across town, a sudden strong gust of wind blustered her way, which caused her hat to nearly fall off.

While she secured her hat in place, the telegram fell from her hands and drifted a few steps behind her. She hurriedly bent down to retrieve it in panic and caught sight of a familiar figure standing a few paces away.

_You must be joking._ She thought sourly, as she angrily stood up.

Why was it that he happened to appear wherever she was?

She had no time for such foolish games!

She violently veered right and set off into the opposite direction as the old sailor.

Every once in a while she would glance over her shoulder; she abruptly stopped as it became painfully obvious that he was following her. He wasn't even trying to hide it.

This had to come to an end.

Taking a deep breath Caroline marched over to the man with her head held high and asked, in her most manly voice:

"Why are you following me?"

The wrinkled old man smirked in amusement. "Following you, am I?"

She huffed in annoyance, and cleared her throat. "Is there something you want?"

"The one you seek is gone, Lass. It'd be best you return home."

Caroline's mouth fell open in surprise.

_Did he just call me Lass? But Lass means, it signifies…_

He grinned widely as he gauged her reaction. "Aye, a girl you are."

She tried to push back her shock, and continued on in a deep voice. "You have been mistaken."

Her statement caused the elderly man to burst into fits of laugher.

She clenched her jaw. "You said the one I seek is gone? What does that mean?" she asked in her regular voice, which was tainted in annoyance.

His expression grew serious at once. "He's gone, return home."

She took a step towards him, and held out the telegram. "No, it says it here, there are survivors."

He solemnly shook his head. "There ain't no survivors here."

"You're wrong."

His dark eyes, shined with pity. "Attacked by pirates his ship was?"

She gave a slight nod.

"He's gone, lass."

His statement sounded so final, it made Caroline's eyes momentarily water with tears. She forced such traitorous tears down, and shook her head.

"Do you know of the location described in my telegram?"

The sailor nodded warily.

Her fierce eyes locked on his. "Perfect, escort me there immediately."

* * *

Across town she followed the man.

She knew following a complete stranger to some unknown location was a bad choice, a stupid choice, but at this point she was desperate.

If he was the only shot she had to find Tyler, she would go against her better judgement; she simply had to see firsthand that Tyler was not present at the refuge to believe it.

Because how could this old man be certain he wasn't?

She glanced towards Pat nervously, as they began to pass the town limits.

But then again how had he known so much about her? And her current situation?

"It's right up here." He murmured, while pointing towards a small patch of trees.

She nervously walked towards the direction he pointed, and sure enough a small shack came into view.

Its few windows were boarded, its walls were rotting, it looked abandoned, it looked haunted.

_There's no turning back now._

She glanced back towards Pat, nodded firmly, and then marched towards the entrance without hesitation.

* * *

Body after body, had been laid side by side across the hard cold floor, their eyes had been vacant, lifeless as if they were already dead.

_What kind of place is this?_ She had thought, as she examined each broken form.

How she had wanted to reach out and help such suffering beings.

No one deserved to be left dying on the floor this way.

It had made her feel lightheaded to see such suffering, it had even angered her.

Why had no one came for these wounded men?

Where were their families? Their friends?

A harsh realization sudden struck Caroline,

_This isn't a refuge,_

_This is a house for the forgotten…_

As Caroline walked out those doors, she now understood one valuable lesson.

To give up, was to die.

"I see you didn't find your lover." stated a sarcastic voice.

She turned towards the sailor, numbly.

"What do you know of the pirates that attacked Tyler's ship?"

He contemplated her questions for a moment, and then fixed her with a severe stare.

"What exactly are you willing to do for this Tyler of yours, Lass?"

Her hands turned to fists at her side. "Anything."

He accepted her answer with a curt nod. "Then we have some Originals to find."

Black spots began to pop across her vision, she suddenly felt like wrenching her guts out.

Was it due to the scene she had just witnessed or the familiar name he had just spoken? Perhaps a bit of both.

"The Originals?" she heard herself whisper.

He nodded. "You didn't think I invented such a story? Did you?"

Of course she had, any rational person would.

"You think they have Tyler?"

He shrugged. "If he's alive, they do."

She pushed back the hysteric bubble of laugher that threatened to escape her lips and nodded.

"How will we find them?"

"Leave that up to me."

Oh, how every nerve in her body screamed danger, how she did not trust this man in the slightness, how she knew this would end very badly.

She glanced towards the sky; the end of the afternoon had come.

It was a reminder of her time limit. It gave her a final push, enough strength to ignore her fears for the time being.

"Let's go."

* * *

Tortuga.

It was where Caroline currently found herself. It was where the old sailor, Pat, had brought her.

Stories she had read about this place, many over the years.

An island run by pirates, a place without proper laws, a place that could barely be called a civilization. She had dreamed of coming here as an imaginative child but now as she stood here surrounded by murderous ,conscienceless pirates she wished to be anywhere but.

"Welcome to Pirate Island." murmured the sailor she had travelled with (and had tried to keep a reasonable amount of distance among them) for the past 2 days on board. But now keeping her distance didn't seem like such a good idea. Out of all the scary men she saw before her very eyes, she was glad to be in Pat's company.

"Pat?" she whispered.

"Aye? I see you do remember my name after all."

She gave him a nervous smile before continuing. "If they're really here, how will we ever know who they are?"

He grinned. "We'll know when we see them."

She sighed, always such cryptic answers. That was very reassuring.

She adjusted her hat on her head, and followed Pat across town. She tried her best to keep an indifferent expression upon her face as she regarded the other men but it was proving to be quite difficult as her imagination ran wild.

Had these men killed?

Had they ever raped an innocent woman?

Did they enjoy causing sufferance?

She could no longer look at these men; because she knew the answer to most of her unspoken questions were a defiant yes.

Pirates were monsters, utterly dreadful beings, and she was chasing after what could possibly be the most terrible of them all.

What in the world was she doing?

"They smell fear, Lass."

She jumped at Pat's whispering voice, this caused him to frown. "Stay calm or it'll become dangerous for the both of us."

She took a deep breath in, and managed to steer her thoughts away from such dreadful ideas.

"I'm okay, I'm perfectly calm."

* * *

After a long day of following Pat around, Caroline was exhausted and quite frustrated.

All day, she had followed him while he did what seemed to be daily errands, such as mailing a letter, greeting friends, and even strolling along the beach!

At the time she had thought such actions served a purpose, that it was contributing to their search but now as they sat at a table in a very crowded pub, she could see it had all been a waste of time! None of his actions had anything to do with finding The Originals. She was beginning to think they were a figment of this crazy old man's imagination!

Or perhaps he was mocking her?

This could very well be all a sick joke to him?

Did he realize how much she was sacrificing for his little expedition? How she was risking her life? Or how worried her father must be, now that he hasn't found her at Long Island!

If she wasn't so tired she would very well scream in frustration! Perhaps even slap his little smug smile he always wore right off his face!

"I have followed you all day without complain, but I simply cannot keep my thoughts at bay any longer." she hissed quietly in fury.

He laughed. "Do tell me what's on your mind, Lass."

She clenched her jaw at his laughter. "We have done nothing all day! Absolutely nothing useful! You have brought me here to find these so called Originals, but where are they, Pat? Where are these imaginative pirates of yours?"

He lifted his hand, and pointed to a group of men across the room.

"They always come out to play at night."

* * *

**Yes I got all the locations from Pirates of the Caribbean, so if they sounded familiar thats why :)**

**Also, there's obviously gonna be a Klaus and Caroline confrontation next chapter, so give me some ideas on how you think that should go. I'd love to hear your different ideas!**


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